recap and all that
hi lj... it's kinda been a while. i come and lurk and occasionally comment but i haven't said much lately. that's not cause i don't have shit to say, i do... just been a little tongue tied lately i guess. anyway, i know it's not what you want but here's a recap of the last show, it's something anyway.
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Wow - what a GREAT show! If you were there then you know and will certainly agree - if not you should kick yourself now for missing it. First, the (wide) Open-Mic is taking off and taking on a life of it's own with a full list of 10 people signed up to read or sing or tell jokes. It's dope we're getting more and different kinds of artists to coming and blessing the mic. We had comedians and a singer to go along with the phenomenal poetry - remember folks; the Open-Mic is WIIIIDE open. Got jokes; bring 'em, got lyrics; bring 'em, got a story to tell; bring it! It's always fabulous to see new faces and hear new voices on the mic. It's invigorating, and energizing and a huge part of why we do this.
After the Open_mic we had the first of our features for the evening - comedian David Lew. This fool is funny! He had us all LOLing and ROTFLing and just generally busting a gut. We will definitely be injecting more comedy into the show going forward - as a matter of fact we actually adding a comedy specific show to the calendar. Stay tuned for "The Oakland COMEDY Slam & Open-Mic" which will be debuting in December at a venue near you!
In the slam we had a full list of 12 poets sign up. There was a good cross section of new folks and familiar faces. We had untested rookies vs. grand-slam champs from 3 different venues! Milani opened the round with a survival story but the "a" slot was too hard to overcome. Terry followed with a beautiful paean to love which kept the crowds attention. Sam Sax stayed with the love but turned it inward in the instructional "How to Build a Closet", and raised the bar to new heights. Lucky 7 tried to match the energy but her own love story couldn't quite match Sam's score. Katelyn came next and told the crowd to "Keep Dreaming". Patrick told us about "The Myth of Cool" and Lisa Evans related "What Makes This Country Great..." but neither could catch Sam. Kevin Holmes proved that "Nothing is Predictable", Dre told a sad story about a fallen friend followed by Leo and TomKat who closed out the slam with a poem about how all of the social networks online are keeping us from really knowing each other. In the end it was Sam Sax who resonated with the judges and walked away with his first win in Oakland.
Now that's a GREAT show already if it ended right there - but it didn't. We saved the best for last! Our main feature for the evening was New Orleans' sultry songstress Kelly Love Jones and she quite simply tore it down. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand, hanging on every word and singing along in full voice. Wow... just plain WOW! We've had some phenomenal features lately but Kelly took us to a whole 'nother level.
Coming up in December we have not 2 but 3 shows for you! First, on Thu Dec 9th is The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic featuring Denver's Paulie Lipman and '08 iWPS/'09 World Cup of Poetry Champ - Joaquin Zihuatanejo. If you don't know what those titles represent; they mean that Joaquin faced the very best performance poets in the world and came away with the win. The WORLD son! You don't want to miss this show! Next, on Thu Dec 16th is the FIRST Oakland COMEDY Slam & Open-Mic. You thought the poetry Slam was fun - wait until you get a load of a COMEDY Slam. Then, for the LAST show of the YEAR (Thu Dec 23rd) we give you not only a Slam but a Holiday Poetry PARTY! Stay tuned for more details but plan to come shake a tail-feather with your favorite poets.
The Oakland Poetry Slam (& Open-Mic)
The Oasis Restaurant & Bar
135 12th st (@ Madison)
Thurs 12/9 - Paulie Lipman & Joaquin Zihuatanejo
Thurs 12/16 - COMEDY Slam
Thurs 12/23 - Holiday Party
8:00 - 11:00
(open-mic list goes out at 7:45)
$7 b4 8:30 - $10 once the fun begins
ALL Ages!!
FULL Bar (21+ w/ ID)
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Wow - what a GREAT show! If you were there then you know and will certainly agree - if not you should kick yourself now for missing it. First, the (wide) Open-Mic is taking off and taking on a life of it's own with a full list of 10 people signed up to read or sing or tell jokes. It's dope we're getting more and different kinds of artists to coming and blessing the mic. We had comedians and a singer to go along with the phenomenal poetry - remember folks; the Open-Mic is WIIIIDE open. Got jokes; bring 'em, got lyrics; bring 'em, got a story to tell; bring it! It's always fabulous to see new faces and hear new voices on the mic. It's invigorating, and energizing and a huge part of why we do this.
After the Open_mic we had the first of our features for the evening - comedian David Lew. This fool is funny! He had us all LOLing and ROTFLing and just generally busting a gut. We will definitely be injecting more comedy into the show going forward - as a matter of fact we actually adding a comedy specific show to the calendar. Stay tuned for "The Oakland COMEDY Slam & Open-Mic" which will be debuting in December at a venue near you!
In the slam we had a full list of 12 poets sign up. There was a good cross section of new folks and familiar faces. We had untested rookies vs. grand-slam champs from 3 different venues! Milani opened the round with a survival story but the "a" slot was too hard to overcome. Terry followed with a beautiful paean to love which kept the crowds attention. Sam Sax stayed with the love but turned it inward in the instructional "How to Build a Closet", and raised the bar to new heights. Lucky 7 tried to match the energy but her own love story couldn't quite match Sam's score. Katelyn came next and told the crowd to "Keep Dreaming". Patrick told us about "The Myth of Cool" and Lisa Evans related "What Makes This Country Great..." but neither could catch Sam. Kevin Holmes proved that "Nothing is Predictable", Dre told a sad story about a fallen friend followed by Leo and TomKat who closed out the slam with a poem about how all of the social networks online are keeping us from really knowing each other. In the end it was Sam Sax who resonated with the judges and walked away with his first win in Oakland.
Now that's a GREAT show already if it ended right there - but it didn't. We saved the best for last! Our main feature for the evening was New Orleans' sultry songstress Kelly Love Jones and she quite simply tore it down. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand, hanging on every word and singing along in full voice. Wow... just plain WOW! We've had some phenomenal features lately but Kelly took us to a whole 'nother level.
Coming up in December we have not 2 but 3 shows for you! First, on Thu Dec 9th is The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic featuring Denver's Paulie Lipman and '08 iWPS/'09 World Cup of Poetry Champ - Joaquin Zihuatanejo. If you don't know what those titles represent; they mean that Joaquin faced the very best performance poets in the world and came away with the win. The WORLD son! You don't want to miss this show! Next, on Thu Dec 16th is the FIRST Oakland COMEDY Slam & Open-Mic. You thought the poetry Slam was fun - wait until you get a load of a COMEDY Slam. Then, for the LAST show of the YEAR (Thu Dec 23rd) we give you not only a Slam but a Holiday Poetry PARTY! Stay tuned for more details but plan to come shake a tail-feather with your favorite poets.
The Oakland Poetry Slam (& Open-Mic)
The Oasis Restaurant & Bar
135 12th st (@ Madison)
Thurs 12/9 - Paulie Lipman & Joaquin Zihuatanejo
Thurs 12/16 - COMEDY Slam
Thurs 12/23 - Holiday Party
8:00 - 11:00
(open-mic list goes out at 7:45)
$7 b4 8:30 - $10 once the fun begins
ALL Ages!!
FULL Bar (21+ w/ ID)